


Should've Known Better

by ikonisch (discordinparadise)



Series: this love is ours [3]
Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Confusion, Friends With Benefits, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Misunderstandings, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Time Skips, and hanbin can't say no to him either, binhwan relate through their friends' problems, but that 'best friend' love wink wink, hanbin's a wholesome cutie, jinhwan and hanbin love each other to pieces, jinhwan just wants to love, jinhwan's a tired hyung who can't say no to him, junbob are clueless n cute, sorta thing, switching POVs, yunchan are so perfect that they don't know what to do with themselves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-09 14:56:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19478242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordinparadise/pseuds/ikonisch
Summary: "ARE YOU DATING?!" Jiwon screeched, brandishing another oh-so-threatening carrot stick and Jinhwan groaned, dropping his head into Hanbin's chest because he didn't want to deal with this now. "And you haven't told us-""Guys, shut up, we're not dating," Hanbin said, voice calm as he wrapped an arm around Jinhwan to make him feel better, and it worked. A little. The words just caused a bigger uproar though of more 'BUT YOU JUST' but Hanbin held up a hand. "We only kiss."Everyone was silent for a moment. Only the breeze made noise, until dead Junhoe was finally sitting up and saying with wide eyes, "Oh my God, you two are friends with benefits."





	1. jinhwan

When it had first started three years ago, Jinhwan hadn't really known what any of it meant. He didn't know if it was because they were both feeling a little too lonely, or if there was perhaps actually something there, or if it was just for fun. But Hanbin probably didn't know either and for some reason, that made Jinhwan feel a little better.

It had started out as a fight, some Wednesday in 2016, somewhere in the winter months. Okay, it wasn't really a fight because it wasn't like either of them were properly _angry_ , Hanbin was just tipsy on sadness and Jinhwan on wine, and honestly that was how late Saturday nights seemed to go ever since they roomed together. This was different, though, different in the way that Jinhwan was just making things worse than better. And that was a first.

"Stop _complaining_ , it's so annoying," Jinhwan whined, hitting his head back against the sofa and Hanbin gave him the saddest eyes, curling up with a cushion.

"You'd complain too, okay? I can't help it."

"If you're that upset over it then just go to a club or something, find someone there then smush your faces together. Done."

Hanbin frowned. "I don't want my first kiss to be like that."

"What _do_ you want it to be like then..."

Hanbin was silent for a while and Jinhwan closed his eyes, thinking that the conversation was over until Hanbin spoke up quietly, "I don't know. Just not that."

Jinhwan let out a deep sigh as he sat up, shaking his head and he could feel Hanbin's wary gaze on him. It was late, and Jinhwan didn't like getting sad at this kind of hour when he'd much rather be asleep or talking with an at the least _not_ -sad Hanbin because sad Hanbin was the worst. Sad Hanbin was the type of person to make you rethink your life choices and wonder why the world was so fucked up, and Jinhwan took another swig of wine to let even _some_ of his emotions ease themselves a little.

"I'm freaking eighteen, doesn't that have to mean something? I'm just a mess."

"Bin, I've known you long enough and it's mostly just that the people who don't like you back are blind idiots."

"Hey, don't you _dare_ diss my ex-crushes like that! I crushed on them for a reason!"

"Oh my God, don't- don't _yell_. Maybe they didn't like you back for a reason too."

Hanbin's jaw dropped and luckily a hiccup masked Jinhwan's laugh. "What the heck?!"

"Just saying."

"You can't say that! No! That's so mean!"

"Oh darling, do you want a band-aid, or my tears in return? You're getting neither."

Jinhwan choked when Hanbin kicked him lightly in the stomach, and it only dissolved into laughter which Hanbin looked absolutely adamant on not joining in on. "O-Oh come on, kid, I'm just not tryna sugar coat anything."

"So you're literally dunking the whole thing in garbage instead?"

"Well, that's good, right? Gives your soft skin a tougher layer," Jinhwan cooed, reaching forwards to smush Hanbin's cheeks and the younger glared at him before batting the hands away, shaking his head.

"My skin's not even soft."

"See, girls don't like pathological liars, why do you think you're single?"

"I know," Hanbin sighed, leaning over the edge of the sofa. Jinhwan turned his head to look at him, slightly examining him, the sadness set in his features, the hair growing a little long, shirt unbuttoned too far. Yeah, Hanbin looked a mess but a beautiful one nonetheless. "God, hyung, I'm sad. I'm so sad. I'm never going to stop being sad. This is actually depressing and you can't _deny_ it-"

"Hanbin," Jinhwan said slowly, mouth feeling dry as he tried to keep himself still. "Hanbin, please, go outside and kiss someone right now or I'm going to do something we'll both regret."

Hanbin's eyes widened as he stared at Jinhwan in amazement. "What- I'm not gonna do that! I _can't_ even do that, don't you dare even think about punching me, I have a dance recital tomorrow- oh my God, stop _looking_ at me like that-"

"Bin," Jinhwan murmured, voice softer now as he reached out and took hold of Hanbin's wrists gently, leaning forward. Hanbin blinked at him but he didn't back up, he only watched Jinhwan in curious wonder, and he looked so annoyingly sweet. Jinhwan had to swallow before he spoke again. "Do you love me?"

Hanbin's eyes clouded in confusion. "Absolutely." 

"I love you too." 

Hanbin blinked at him, eyes wide, and Jinhwan was leaning closer. He knew what he was doing, or at least he thought he knew. It wasn't for him. It was for this weirdly gorgeous sad kid in front of him with pouty lips and watery eyes. No-one else. No other reason. 

"Then, at least, you can have your first kiss with someone you love who also loves you."

Then Jinhwan slowly leant forward to press his lips against Hanbin's. He heard the younger's breath hitch, he felt him curl into himself, but he didn't push Jinhwan away. Hanbin's lips were so overwhelmingly soft. He tasted faintly of mint, stronger of chocolate, and Jinhwan rested a hand on Hanbin's thigh as the latter floated closer to him, one arm curling around Jinhwan's neck. And then, they finally broke apart.

Hanbin didn't open his eyes for a while. Almost like he was staying in the moment, trying to make sure it was real, and Jinhwan smiled as he rubbed Hanbin's thigh. "Hey. You still with me?" 

Hanbin nodded, slowly leaning forward to rest his head in the crook of Jinhwan's neck and Jinhwan laughed a little, cloaking Hanbin in an embrace. He almost didn't hear the boy's whisper of, "Why did you do that?"

"Because you were being so pathetic that I physically couldn't help it." 

_And because you looked dastardly pretty, and I think I'm drunk._

"It felt...really nice..."

"That's good."

"I love you."

Jinhwan pulled back, looking at Hanbin who looked at him too, his eyes open now all bleary and dazed. Jinhwan kissed his nose for no particular reason. "Let's go to sleep. Celebrate your first kiss in your dreams, kiddo."

"Noooo, I wanna celebrate with _you_. Get me some wine and...more kisses?" Hanbin asked hopefully, hands clasped together and eyes wide but all Jinhwan could do was snort, shaking his head though he did take hold of the wine.

"It was just to give you a taste, more would ruin the purpose I was trying to-"

But he was cut off when Hanbin moved forwards and kissed Jinhwan again, so softly as his hand lay on Jinhwan's chest and slowly pushed the elder down onto his back. It only lasted a second since Hanbin clearly didn't know what he was doing but Jinhwan was still windswept, stammering out his breaths as the wine bottle fell from his hand to the ground.

"Sorry," Hanbin murmured shyly, looking down as his hands curled into fists, gently tapping Jinhwan's chest and the elder sighed, tapping Hanbin's hips lightly.

"It's okay. Just tonight..."

Hanbin's eyes widened before blinking profusely, mouth opening to stutter out some confusion but Jinhwan tugged on his shirt to pull him down, crashing their lips together and smiling at Hanbin's squeak. Yeah, Jinhwan had definitely drank a little too much if he was really about to make out with his friend. But somewhere in the slightly drunken haze, he thought, maybe...it wasn't the best idea. They weren't here to fall in love. Hanbin wasn't wanting to kiss him for anything other than the fact that 'it felt really nice'.

"One more kiss then we sleep. I'm tired," Jinhwan lied through a short whisper and Hanbin nodded like the sweetheart he was, leaning down and gently locking their lips together again. Jinhwan slowly closed his eyes, his heartbeat slowing down and it had never even been in a frenzy. It felt like a little piece of alternate heaven because it wasn't like Jinhwan had kissed anyone in quite a while, and this kind of contact? Maybe he craved it a little. And Hanbin was so cute, with the way he tried to hold the kiss probably until his lungs gave out but Jinhwan broke it, just so they wouldn't both pass out.

"Now you're gonna go and brush your teeth, and I'm gonna swig some more wine to cope with the fact that this has actually happened. Then bedtime. You hear me?"

Hanbin grinned, nodding as he rolled off of Jinhwan and called out a goodnight, and Jinhwan lazily called it back as he just laid there. And sighed.

He couldn't believe what was happening. And he didn't know if he even wanted to believe it. He hoped that this was a one-off, that it would never happen again and Hanbin would settle with a nice girl and Jinhwan would spend the rest of his life alone and drinking it away because that was just what was _meant_ for them. Jinhwan didn't take chances for love anymore.

Even if, this wasn't quite _love_ love.

And Hanbin was okay with just kisses.

Suddenly, a small corner of his mind started hoping that this wasn't a one-off, and Jinhwan cursed himself to oblivion. 

More days passed than Jinhwan expected before they brought it up again. Jinhwan would give Hanbin nervous looks every now and then but Hanbin didn't seem to be exuding any awkwardness, any sign of anything, no, he'd still cuddle into Jinhwan on the sofa and he'd still wave him goodbye every day. But he could tell, kind of, that something was up, that something seemed different, but soon Jinhwan started believing that it was just his imagination. Nothing was wrong.

And it just _had_ to be the moment when Jinhwan started to stop worrying; thinking that it _was_ over, it hadn't been anything in the first place except for help, _simple_ help; that annoying sweet innocent Hanbin chose to mess things up again.

God, why couldn't he have just done it sooner?

Though, to be fair. It might have been the television's fault.

"H-Hanbin?" Jinhwan breathed out confusedly when Hanbin rolled Jinhwan onto his back and slid up further before collapsing on him, pressing his cheek against the elder's chest. The drama had just got to a lovey-dovey scene and Jinhwan knew Hanbin liked stuff like that, but here the guy was blatantly not watching it. He was about to ask what was wrong until he felt Hanbin's legs tangling up in his, and the kid raised his head to pout at Jinhwan, hair all messy but probably ungodly soft. "What's up?"

"I've spent a whole week trying to figure out how to ask you to kiss me again," Hanbin whined, dropping his head onto Jinhwan's chest with a thump and Jinhwan winced, letting out a silent 'ouch'. "So this drama is making me _sad_. Can we stop watching it?"

"So you literally just said all that and ended up asking me something other than 'can you kiss me'?"

"I told you I don't know how to ask you without being weird!"

"There's literally _no_ way that you can be this much of an idiot," Jinhwan said in disbelief before he took hold of Hanbin's face and pulled it towards him, pressing their lips together before Hanbin could panic. He felt Hanbin stiffen, his fists banging on Jinhwan's chest a little before they relaxed, just resting there, and Jinhwan couldn't hold back a smile when he felt Hanbin playing footsies with him. He pulled away, pressing the tip of his nose against Hanbin's and stared back into the boy's wide starry eyes. "Is that what you wanted?"

Hanbin nodded, a soft blush on his face as he went back to resting his face on Jinhwan's collarbones. Jinhwan just knew that the guy had to be screaming inside his head right now and Jinhwan kissed the shell of his ear, whispering, "It's okay, I get it. I'm addictive."

"Shut up," Hanbin mumbled, curling into Jinhwan who snorted.

"What do you call this withdrawal then?"

"I'm gonna murder you."

"You wouldn't. But at the least, tell me what you want."

Hanbin slowly raised his head again and the first thing he looked at was Jinhwan's lips. Jinhwan smiled, smoothing a hand across Hanbin's waist as he coaxed, "Tell me."

Hanbin's eyes flicked up to look into Jinhwan's now, and he seemed so conflicted. "I...I should want to date. I should find someone to date and then I can just kiss them, right?"

"Right..."

"But this is so much easier," Hanbin whispered, and that made Jinhwan's smile slip as he curled his fingers against Hanbin's cheek.

"Baby. I know you could date someone. You could get anyone you want. You're amazing, you're so amazing, don't say stuff like that. You'll have someone one day."

"I won't."

" _Hanbin._ "

"Only you think that. Only you think I'm amazing and you probably don't even really think that so why would anyone else see that in me?" Hanbin mumbled, looking down again even though there weren't many places to look when their faces were so close. Jinhwan just kept staring at him, desolate, before he pecked the younger's lips. Hanbin's eyes closed almost immediately.

"Guess the only thing I can do is kiss those worries away."

"I'd love that...so much..."

"And I love you more. Kiss me whenever you're sad, whenever you want."

The way Hanbin looked at him was so tearful and adoring, and Jinhwan slowly tilted his head and kissed him again. It was intoxicating really, having Hanbin's plush lips slide over his and the soft wet noises of kissing was something Jinhwan had missed, though it had never been as sweet as this and it was only because Hanbin was exactly that. Sweet.

And that was the start of it all.

Jinhwan had no idea how they managed to keep it quiet for an entire year because honestly, Hanbin had a loud mouth and it wasn't like Jinhwan was much better. He didn't really feel the need to tell anyone though, mostly for Hanbin's sake and because the kisses they'd sneak between classes and Jinhwan's lips on Hanbin's neck late at night, that was all _their_ business, no-one else's.

"Hey," Jinhwan said quietly the afternoon of his birthday, 2017, as he watched the younger rest, stroking a gentle hand down his side. The others had thrown a party for Jinhwan that had them all drained and Hanbin more-so from how little sleep he had got the night before from studying as well as surprising Jinhwan at midnight. Hanbin cracked an eye open, his sweet lips quirking a little.

"You stayed?"

"Don't have much better things to do. But, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"How upset would you be if the others found out?"

"I wouldn't be upset," Hanbin hummed, closing his eyes again. "And this isn't anything to 'find out'. We just kiss sometimes. I just...like the fact that it's just us who know. It's our thing and there's no one else to judge us."

Jinhwan smiled, nodding. Hanbin was growing up, bit by bit. Young soul, old mind, mixed heart, and he was too good to be in the palm of Jinhwan's hand like this. Jinhwan didn't let himself abuse this power he had over Hanbin which he _knew_ he had, he saw it sometimes in the way Hanbin would look at him, and he hoped it wouldn't get out of hand. He still remembered one time he had held Hanbin's hand and asked him again, "Do you love me?" and Hanbin nodded immediately, spilling out words akin to 'of _course_ ' and Jinhwan was kind of scared.

Jinhwan was snapped out of his thoughts when Hanbin rolled into him, smiling and his face was so close that Jinhwan knew this was the closest he'd get to the words 'blinded by beauty'. "Hey, it's your birthday, it's your day. Do you want anything?"

"Don't give yourself up to me like that, you egg, it sounds sketchy."

"I know, I know, I just want you to be...happy," Hanbin mumbled, moving his fingers across Jinhwan's chest lightly and Jinhwan bit his lip, knowing what Hanbin was suggesting but he couldn't do it, not with someone who had barely even made out with someone before. He took hold of Hanbin's hand, gently pushing it away as he whispered, "I'm just happy being with you."

Hanbin smiled giddily, leaning closer before flopping his head against Jinhwan's chest and Jinhwan kissed the back of his head, holding him tight.

Hanbin was too good of a person to be in a friends-with-benefits relationship, and that thought made Jinhwan quite miserable.

It was April when Jinhwan decided to get a few things in order, mostly to get his mind off of workload and finding a job and the horrible prospect of kissing Hanbin (that sounded better in his head). He wanted to round all of his friends up. The mismatched group all started because Jiwon and Jinhwan each had their own friends, and then _they_ became good friends in middle school which slowly eased the others in. That was how Jinhwan met Hanbin and Donghyuk who he instantly clicked with, and Yunhyeong and Junhoe on his side took a little longer to weave in. Yunhyeong got there soon enough when he invited Jinhwan and Jiwon to a barbecue and the others all went along, but Junhoe...not so much. The others only really knew him via Jinhwan's stories about him.

In fact, Jinhwan still didn't know if Junhoe was coming.

"I assure you he is!" Yunhyeong chirped as they all lounged around on the field, Hanbin sleeping with his head in Jinhwan's lap and Jinhwan stroking his hair. Donghyuk and Jiwon were having a thumb-wrestle that they were both failing epically at. "You know what Junhoe's like with time."

"He might've just bailed, I mean, this isn't the first time. I want him to meet them, though, I really do, he's never had a tight group like this and I think he needs it."

"Does this Junhoe dude not like us? Is that why he never wants to meet us?" Jiwon asked with a pout and Jinhwan shook his head.

"He doesn't even _know_ you. He just keeps to himself a lot, that's how he is."

"I hope you don't mind but I invited someone as well," Yunhyeong said quietly, looking down as he fiddled with his sunglasses and Jinhwan blinked at him in surprise. "He should be coming with Junhoe."

"I mean- that's great! The more the merrier, really."

"How old are these kids?"

"Seventeen. Donghyuk's age," Yunhyeong answered, reclining in his deck-chair and Donghyuk tore himself away from the anticlimactic thumb-wrestle to yell out, "YAY, NO MORE HYUNGS!"

"Oh come on, you love us," Jiwon teased, reaching out to capture Donghyuk into a headlock, and Jinhwan rolled his eyes at them before he looked down at Hanbin.

"You okay?"

Hanbin moved a little to kiss Jinhwan's fingers. "Just fine."

Ten more minutes of lazy waiting commenced, and Jinhwan was giving up hope by then. At least they were all talking now, with Donghyuk and Jiwon having come near them and they were in some sort of circle. Jiwon was telling a story about accidentally hacking into someone's phone and Hanbin was like, "How do you accidentally hack into someone's phone," and Jiwon said, "You don't," which had Hanbin in shock. Jinhwan flicked both their foreheads.

"Sorry we're late!" a young voice was suddenly calling out and even though it was unfamiliar, Jinhwan was still breathing out a sigh of relief. Yunhyeong lit up the most, though, immediately getting up to run over to the voice and they all watched with wide eyes as he wrapped his arms around the guy's waist and the guy grinned at him.

"What the hell?" Hanbin asked, the first to break out of shocked silence and Junhoe shrugged. Jinhwan laughed in realisation, shaking his head at how stupid he was. He should have known the instant Yunhyeong had said he was seventeen.

"Yun brought the kid he's crazy over. The one he keeps leaving campus for to meet."

" _That's_ why he leaves campus? I thought he just didn't like me!" Jiwon yelped, sounding so betrayed yet pleased which was an odd combination and Jinhwan raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's probably that too, honey."

"I didn't think he liked that guy, though?" Donghyuk said in astonishment and Jinhwan shrugged, struggling to hold back his smile because gosh, he loved love.

"You gotta learn to read Yunhyeong better, then, because he's been damn well obvious."

"Hell yeah he has and they're gross," a gruff voice said from behind Jinhwan who stifled a gasp, tilting his head back and he saw Junhoe standing behind him, hands in his pockets.

"You came!"

"I did. Your offer of free food was enticing, my mother can't really cook anymore and Dad has never been good. Don't even _try_ to ask if I am."

"Hi, Junhoe," Hanbin said as he sat up, waving and Junhoe nodded at him. "I hope you don't remember the last time we met."

"I try not to. But sometimes I think about it at night and wonder where things went so wrong."

Jinhwan snorted so hard that he could have almost died, doubling back to lean against Junhoe's legs and Hanbin patted the elder's hand. "There, there. Junhoe, I hate you."

"Likewise."

Jinhwan stopped his laughing to argue incessantly against them but Hanbin pressed a finger to his lips, humming, "It's soft hate, don't you worry."

Jinhwan's eyes caught onto Donghyuk and Jiwon then, and he was a bit surprised by what he saw. Donghyuk was smiling with them, albeit a little confused, but Jiwon was _staring_. Dear lord, who taught that boy to be so shameless? His mouth was open a little and he was looking at Junhoe like he was a god, and once everyone had gone quiet, Jiwon suddenly blurted out in a shaky voice, "W-Would I happen to see you in a magazine s-somewhere?"

Junhoe blinked at him. "No."

"Don't worry, he's trying to tell you you're pretty by saying you could be a magazine model," Donghyuk explained flippantly before yelping when Jiwon slammed into him, honestly about to commit murder until Junhoe said quieter, "Oh. That's...sweet."

Jiwon quickly pushed Donghyuk to the side to nod frantically, "I meant it that way! Not to be creepy! Just sweet!"

Jinhwan sighed exasperatedly, flopping his face into Hanbin's shoulder as he muttered, "This isn't going well," and he could hear Hanbin grinning as he replied, "Give us two years and I think it'll be fine."

Jinhwan slapped his shoulder, grumbling at Hanbin's giggles.

"Guys, this is Chanwoo," Yunhyeong said as they had come over by now, kissing the younger's cheek and Chanwoo turned a little pink, smiling dizzily. Everyone said 'hi, Chanwoo' like it was group therapy and Jinhwan didn't know _why_ he had to relate those two things. "He's my...uh...he- well, we-"

"We just started dating like last week," Chanwoo said to save him and Yunhyeong nodded, smiling at him and _ew_ , they were in that disgusting honeymoon stage of being utterly whipped for everything the other did, but Jinhwan couldn't help but be happy for them. "Not quite exclusive, I guess."

"Why, are you seeing someone else?" Jiwon asked with narrowed eyes, pointing at Chanwoo with a carrot stick and the younger quickly shook his head.

"No!"

"Right answer," Jiwon said just as menacing, biting into the stick aggressively and Jinhwan caught Junhoe's small smile as the boy sank down to sit next to him. Him as in Jinhwan, not Jiwon because Jinhwan was sure Junhoe was still weirded out by the magazine thing.

"He's a good guy, I swear," Jinhwan whispered to him and Junhoe's face was blank.

"Sure."

"Junhoe, today is about you letting people in and you _better._ "

Junhoe grimaced a little, repeating more gruffly (but Jinhwan knew that was just what he was like when he felt vulnerable), "Sure."

They decided to go on a walk. Junhoe offered to stay behind to look after their stuff but Jinhwan slapped his head, saying no-one would steal anything and it wasn't like there was anything valuable in their blankets and Yunhyeong's stupid deck-chair.

"Can I hold your hand?" Jinhwan heard Yunhyeong whisper from behind him and Chanwoo teased, "You'd do it even if I said no," and Yunhyeong laughed, not denying it, and Jinhwan was torn between groaning and grinning. 

Honestly, thank the lords that Donghyuk existed because he had already got Junhoe into a conversation, all smiles and even engagement from the other at times. Yet Jiwon was oddly walking in silence, letting them talk. Jinhwan had never seen him like this because really, Jiwon made friends as easily as he breathed. He had charm and fun in buckets and Jinhwan had really wanted Junhoe to have seen that. This was confusing.

"You know, I love how much you worry about our group sometimes," a bright voice said from beside him and Jinhwan snapped out of it, looking to the side in surprise.

"I honestly forgot you existed."

"Oh, _thanks_ ," Hanbin replied dryly, but he didn't sound offended. Jinhwan loved Hanbin for things like that. "Aside from that, you're just the cutest. Wanting us to all be pals. Makes me think of when you first met me and Donghyuk via hyung and you were all like 'we're gonna be the bestest friends ever for life like those groups of friends on tv shows who have a really deep backstory!'"

"Shut up, I was fourteen and obsessed with How I Met Your Mother at the time, okay-"

"Yeah, well, I loved it. I'm so glad I have this. And I'm so glad you keep having faith in us. Even at least just me."

"What do you mean?"

Yunhyeong and Chanwoo were even ahead of them now, talking to Jiwon who was punching Chanwoo's shoulder about something and laughing. Jinhwan and Hanbin were slower in their talking, but Jinhwan didn't want to speed up just yet.

"I was lucky as hell that I got to be your dorm-mate," Hanbin said with a smile, wrapping his fingers loosely around Jinhwan's wrist and Jinhwan wondered why he hadn't gone for his hand. "But it's always been you that keeps us going. In just those small ways where you stay with me longer than I expect and you watch tv with me and you're not always talking but you're always there and sometimes I think I don't need you to be there but then I realise that it's really nice that you're there so I can't ever tell you to leave because then you'd be sad and I can't have that and I don't want you to go anyway."

Jinhwan stared up at Hanbin in amazement. "I'm not convinced that I understood any of that."

Hanbin grinned. "Just default it to 'I love you'."

"Okay, babe."

They caught up with the others soon enough. Chanwoo and Yunhyeong weren't as lovey as everyone expected, in fact Chanwoo and Donghyuk and Junhoe seemed to get a pretty strong bond, maybe because of the same ages, and Junhoe and Hanbin's banter always had Jinhwan wanting to fall into a bush dying from laughter. And soon enough, they were back where they started.

"Can someone get me a drink?" Junhoe asked from where he was starfishing on the floor,and Jiwon quickly fumbled to obey, reaching forward to get hold of the picnic box only to fall, and Donghyuk cackled at him. Jiwon sighed but managed to get a drink and throw it gently at Junhoe's chest, and the guy said an unbothered thank you. Jinhwan looked at Jiwon curiously.

"Ji?"

Jiwon got up, looking at Jinhwan in anticipation. "Yeah?"

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"I know Junhoe's pretty but he shouldn't make you awkward."

"Their auras clash, hyung. Both alpha-like," Donghyuk said with a shrug, wrapping an arm around Jiwon's shoulders and Jiwon quickly checked to see if Junhoe was listening, but Junhoe looked dead. "Hyung easily engages with people who are open to engagement."

"Give him some time," Jinhwan said with a frown. "I want you and him to be friends. You'd be good for him."

"Why?" Jiwon asked, genuinely questioning and Jinhwan had to think.

"You're loyal and funny and trustworthy. You'd just be a good pillar of a friend."

Jiwon looked away, seeming to be thinking over the words. Jinhwan cleared his throat, saying louder, "We should be heading off soon, the sunset's on its way."

"There's a new episode of My Secret Romance coming out today," Hanbin said excitedly and Jinhwan smiled, leaning forwards to peck his lips.

"We'll watch that then-"

"Woah woah woah, what was that?" Yunhyeong suddenly asked, making Jinhwan look at him in confusion.

"What was what?"

"You guys just- you just!" Donghyuk yelped, looking betrayed and horrified and amazed and mind-blown all at once and Jinhwan furrowed his eyebrows, about to fight back until Hanbin was tugging on his sleeve and whispering, "Hyung, you...kissed me in front of them."

Jinhwan's heart stilled.

"Wait a second-"

"ARE YOU DATING?!" Jiwon screeched, brandishing another oh-so-threatening carrot stick and Jinhwan groaned, dropping his head into Hanbin's chest because he _didn't_ want to deal with this now. "And you haven't fucking _told us-_ "

"Guys, shut up, we're not dating," Hanbin said, voice calm as he wrapped an arm around Jinhwan to make him feel better, and it worked. A little. The words just caused a bigger uproar though of more 'BUT YOU JUST' but Hanbin held up a hand. "We only kiss."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Only the breeze made noise, until dead Junhoe was finally sitting up and saying with wide eyes, "Oh my God, you two are friends with benefits."

Jinhwan winced, burying into Hanbin more as he heard the guy say in surprise, "I guess we...kinda are," and everyone was silent once more. Until Yunhyeong gasped, "I can't believe _Hanbin_ of all people-"

"Hey, I'm sexy and stuff, I can be a friend-with-benefits!" Hanbin yelped childishly, bringing out laughter from the others. "You wanna see me make out with hyung right now?! I warn you, I'll do it, _don't_ test me!"

Jinhwan instantly slapped Hanbin's arm, raising his head. "No-one wants to see that, you idiot. And ignore him, we don't make out, it's literally nothing."

"Then why do you do it?" Chanwoo asked, eyes wide in curiosity and Jinhwan stared straight back at him, almost challenging.

"Because why not?"

It seemed like no-one could argue with him there and Hanbin smiled shyly, resting his head against Jinhwan's shoulder.

"My boyfriend says he wants me to come over," Junhoe sighed a moment later after checking his phone, and Jiwon blinked at him while Jinhwan grimaced.

"That asshole? Tell him to shut the fuck up."

"He's heading off to England next month for modelling so we'll be ending it then anyway. I'll just hang on a bit longer, I guess. Should I go?"

"Do what you want," Hanbin shrugged and that seemed to cement Junhoe's decision of, "I won't go."

"We need to leave now anyway so you honestly can if you want."

"The more time I spend with him, the more he'll think I'm into him and then he'll make a bigger show of 'not wanting me to be too depressed because he's gone' at the airport."

"I mean, you're dating him and that's proof enough to say you're into him," Jiwon pointed out and Junhoe looked at him for the second time that day, smiling a little.

"Trust me, it's not."

Jiwon looked like he had been told the world's secrets.

Donghyuk captured Junhoe into a hug when they had to all leave each other and Junhoe was rolling his eyes, tapping Donghyuk's back dismissively like 'let's get this over with' but Jinhwan could see the smile. Hanbin made Chanwoo and Jiwon join too which had them all groaning, but happy. Yunhyeong seemed extremely excited by the fact that Chanwoo had been so likeable that he attacked the younger's neck with fluttery kisses that had Chanwoo trying to get him away.

Jinhwan patted Junhoe's waist. "You good?"

"Great. This was nice."

"See! You could've had this years ago-"

"Can I ask you something?"

Jinhwan nodded, a bit worried when Junhoe turned to face him, and there wasn't much expression in his face but there _was_ something like curiosity. "You're not messing with Hanbin, right?"

"Oh, definitely not." 

_I hope not._

"And why do you really do it?"

"It's to make him feel better, really."

Junhoe raised his eyebrows. "Oh wait, so it's more like the other way around."

"What?"

"It's like he's using you."

"No! It's not that deep, there aren't any feelings involved. He's just my roommate and one of my best friends and kissing is something that's nice, right, so we do it sometimes."

Junhoe shrugged, and Jinhwan didn't like any of these things he was insinuating. "If you say so." 

Junhoe and Chanwoo left then, and the others waved. Hanbin absent-mindedly reached out to take hold of Jinhwan's hand but Jinhwan moved it, crossing his arms and Hanbin blinked in surprise before slowly retracting his hand, putting it in his pocket instead. But when everyone else was gone and it was just Hanbin and Jinhwan in front of their apartment, the elder pulled on Hanbin's collar gently and connected their lips, sliding a hand down Hanbin's chest. Hanbin's breath stuttered in surprise, and he didn't get to kiss back before Jinhwan pulled away.

"I-I thought you were mad at me for- for something," Hanbin breathed out, looking so elated and Jinhwan shook his head.

"No, I'm just...worried, about some stuff."

"Oh yeah? You can always tell me. I'm always here for you to talk to me."

Jinhwan nodded and right then, he felt more miserable than ever.

"I know."

They didn't kiss as much as they used to after that day, and Jinhwan never really minded. He never quite found out if Hanbin did, though. 


	2. hanbin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time skip time

Late 2018 met hard times for all of them.

The last happy day that Hanbin could remember for all seven of them was when they met up in the summer holidays, ready to decide the pairs for living together and finding apartments. Everyone greeted Junhoe again, even Jiwon who smiled sweetly at him. "Haven't seen you in like, a year, right?"

Junhoe nodded, smiling back and Hanbin could have burst into love song.

They all stood in a circle, staring at each other with narrowed eyes like the risqué cowboys they weren't before Chanwoo, invigilating since he had opted out of sharing an apartment with someone, yelled out, "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!" and they all screeched out like men going into battle, brandishing fingers and fists. Before blinking dumbfoundedly trying to figure out who was what.

"That didn't work - again!"

And thus again they assembled, Chanwoo staring everyone down before hollering again with no warning and everyone jumped into action once more. And amazingly, this time it worked, and they didn't need to wait for Chanwoo saying, "Why are we so stupid that we don't just do it in pairs then move up?" on the tenth go.

Scissors: him and Jinhwan.

Hanbin had instantly lit up, his hand dropping as he ran at the elder more excitedly than he had ever felt and Jinhwan caught him, laughing in his ear as he squeezed Hanbin tight, letting him know he was just as happy about it. 

"We got what we wanted, right, Bin?" Jinhwan hummed, kissing Hanbin's ear and Hanbin nodded, hugging Jinhwan even tighter. He knew it was what he wanted, he knew the others weren't bad at all but Jinhwan was _Jinhwan_. Hanbin had never roomed with anyone other than his family and Jinhwan. Jinhwan knew him so well. Jinhwan loved him.

Rock: Junhoe and Jiwon.

The two had stared at each other for a good moment, eyes wide but little did they know it was a moment of bliss before the other's started cajoling them and slapping their backs, yelling out rejoices of, "THIS IS WHAT WE WERE FUCKING WAITING FOR" while dancing around them. Jiwon opened his mouth, clearly trying to speak but he seemed to be struggling, and the poor guy seemed like he was going to get a heart attack when Junhoe started walking over to him, giving Jiwon a weak smile. "Guess I got you."

"Y-You gotta know that my...my budget isn't like-"

"It's fine, we'll compensate."

Jiwon nodded, dazed as he floated after Junhoe who began to walk off.

Paper: Yunhyeong and Donghyuk.

The two whooped after Jiwon and Junhoe left, squishing each other into a hug and yelling out building and decor styles, agreeing on so many things that it was borderline creepy. Though Hanbin raised an eyebrow because he knew for a fact that they were both close to broke, and Chanwoo seemed to catch his drift as he said dryly, "Don't worry. Even though I tried my best to avoid this, I know I'll be paying for the most part."

Hanbin snickered, about to pat his back but then Jinhwan was tugging on his arm, saying an excited, "Let's go!" and Hanbin smiled, intertwining arms as they left the other three be.

"We're gonna go look now?"

"Well, early is good, right? We don't have to decide today or anything-" Jinhwan cut off into a yelp when Hanbin suddenly tackled him into a back-hug, throwing him around in a messy spin and Jinhwan started smacking at Hanbin's arms. "Can you _stop-_ "

"I'm just so happy I got you," Hanbin mock-sobbed dramatically and he could almost feel Jinhwan rolling his eyes, though the feelings became realer as he buried his face in Jinhwan's neck, stilling. "I really am..."

"Stop acting like a clingy puppy. You know a lot of landlords don't like pets, right?" Jinhwan sighed though a smile played on his lips as he tipped his head to the side and kissed Hanbin's temple. Hanbin looked at him, pouting a little.

"Then where can I go?"

Jinhwan snorted, tapping Hanbin's cheek before elbowing the guy in the stomach to get him to back off. "You're not leaving me, don't worry."

Hanbin grinned, taking hold of Jinhwan's hand. "I want an apartment with lots of windows. And an extra room! For studio stuff!"

"Sweetheart, please get a paying job before you make requests."

"Oh no but you see I've got this real nice rich hyung who'll give me tooooons of money in exchange for kisses," Hanbin argued teasingly, leaning in to kiss Jinhwan before he could protest but in seconds he was left cradling his shoulder that Jinhwan had just slammed his fist into, screeching, "I'M NOT YOUR SUGAR DADDY!"

Hanbin missed days like those.

-

Jinhwan was studying towards his last year in uni, growing more and more stressed by the day, Jiwon and Junhoe were basically MIA from anyone but each other ever since the incident and Chanwoo and Yunhyeong were fighting more than usual. Donghyuk was the only person Hanbin could rely on to be the same, but he was just as worried, and two constantly worried people didn't make for a good time.

Hanbin still remembered coming home one September night to find Jinhwan on the sofa with a silent Junhoe leaning against him while emitting the strongest, saddest aura Hanbin had ever felt - it made him want to cry just by sensing it. He went over, taking a tentative seat next to Junhoe as he took a gentle hold of the younger's hand and Jinhwan gave him sad eyes. Hanbin tried to ask what was wrong but the words got stuck in his throat, yet his question was answered when Junhoe let out a small, rough, heartbreaking, "M-Mom..."

That was all Hanbin needed, and him and Jinhwan sandwiched Junhoe with quiet comfort.

Hanbin could tell that Jinhwan was more than a little offended that Junhoe chose to stay at his apartment rather than let Jinhwan comfort him with his undying love and friendship. Hanbin could only smile and stroke Jinhwan's side as the elder would huff at him about it, ranting about how Jiwon was the most _insensitive_ person while Jinhwan was _amazing_ at emotions and—

"It might be because Jiwon can relate. What with Jiun passing last year and all," Hanbin said quietly when Jinhwan paused to dare let him get a word in edgeways, but he knew it wasn't the right thing to say when Jinhwan narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah well Junhoe doesn't know about that, and I'm _absolutely_ certain Junhoe hasn't told him anything! So it's just bullshit, I'm his bestest oldest friend and he _dares_ think that I wouldn't comfort him well enough..."

"Hyung, you get so angry that you start sounding a lil insensitive, I gotta tell you. Hey, I _bet_ it's not even about Jiwon, he probably just doesn't wanna go outside. I know I'm like that when I'm sad."

Jinhwan huffed, turning to the other side as he mumbled a gruff, "Fine," and Hanbin grinned as he draped himself over Jinhwan's back, wrapping an arm loosely around Jinhwan's torso as he nuzzled the elder's neck, and it was a win when he heard Jinhwan laugh gently. "You're not actually mad, right?"

"No, no. Besides, can't be mad when you're around," Jinhwan murmured, turning his head to look at Hanbin with a shine to his eyes, the softest smile on his lips and Hanbin forgot to smile back as he stared, taken by how beautiful Jinhwan could be. "I miss this. I miss spending time with my big manchild."

"I'm _not_ a manchild!" Hanbin whined defensively as Jinhwan wrestled him into a loose embrace and planted a rough kiss onto his cheek with a loud smack, leaving Hanbin squirming.

" _Sure_ you're not."

Though, atmospheres changed as Hanbin felt the back of a smooth hand brushing over his cheek slowly, and the next thing he knew, Jinhwan was looking at him with a gentle, pensive expression, careful fingers curling against his skin. He seemed almost sad and Hanbin furrowed his eyebrows, questioning.

"You'll stay, right? You'll be here, even if we get busy? Even if I don't give as much as I take? These moments I have with you...even if they're small, they keep me going. I'm just asking you to let me be selfish...I want to keep you."

"Keep me where?" Hanbin asked amusedly, undeniably adoring as Jinhwan snorted softly, slinging an arm over Hanbin's waist.

"In my heart."

"Aw dang it. Can't win against a romantic like you."

Jinhwan closed his eyes, rubbing his nose against Hanbin's and the latter reciprocated with a grin, shuffling closer, staying in Jinhwan's arms as they lay there in contentment until both of their breathing slowed down. Hanbin didn't know when that happened, but he did remember randomly waking up at two pm to find Jinhwan cradling him even closer this time, one leg thrown over Hanbin as he hugged Hanbin to his chest and he was _dead_ asleep. Hanbin smiled through his tiredness, kissing Jinhwan's jaw before gently disentangling himself from the elder and leaving the room to get outside.

"How much do I make Junhoe laugh?" Jiwon asked randomly as him and Hanbin sat in one of the coffee shops on campus and Hanbin stared at him, mid-sip.

"You ask like you genuinely think I keep tabs on something like this."

"I make him laugh, right?!"

"I think that's basically all you do."

"Yes! See! This guy has _nothing_ on me."

"I swear to God, hyung, Dawon is one of our best players and if you scare him off the team somehow, I'm gonna mess you up. Man up and let Junhoe have other friends."

"But I don't know Dawon well enough, he could be a _threat,_ " Jiwon whined loudly, kicking about in his seat and Hanbin stared at him.

"Honey, a threat to _what_? You and Junhoe don't have a relationship."

"Yes we do!" Jiwon yelped out instantly, sitting up in his seat like a rocket and Hanbin really wanted to laugh. "He's my roommate! He likes my hot chocolate! We bond!"

"Okay, okay. Both the bane and love of your life are over there right now," Hanbin hummed, sipping his shake as Jiwon glared at him but still looked where Hanbin had been menially pointing, frowning a little as he saw Junhoe and Dawon talking just outside the shop. Dawon seemed to be describing some story animatedly, using his hands in massive gestures and Junhoe was giggling, shaking his head as Dawon asked him an explosive question. Jiwon was holding onto his energy drink alarmingly tight.

"Hyung, you're not Junhoe's best friend or anything, there's literally no reason for you to be jealous."

Jiwon was silent for a second before saying in a small voice, "I _could_ be his best friend."

Hanbin raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Tell him that and see how he responds."

Jiwon grimaced and sank down in his chair, looking like a very sad grumpy cat. "This isn't about that, it's that I think Dawon's bad for him..."

"Hyung. Please. Stop kidding yourself."

"Hey," the familiar voice said as Junhoe came up behind them and Jiwon froze in his seat, eyes widening while Hanbin nodded at the guy, gesturing to the chair between him and Jiwon.

"All good? Thought you were gonna come like ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, yeah, just got caught up with someone. That for me?" Junhoe asked, pointing at the lonesome coffee cup in the middle of the table and Jiwon quickly nodded, gently pushing it towards the guy. Junhoe didn't answer to the courtesy, only taking hold of the drink and sipping at it, and Hanbin was about to start talking again until Junhoe briefly smiled at Jiwon. "Still not as good as yours."

You should have _seen_ the guy. Curling into himself from shyness, smiling from ear to ear as he said a small, "Good," and Hanbin wanted to retch, especially when Jiwon sent him the ugliest, most triumphant 'I _told_ you so' look.

"Guess you don't need to fight another barista."

Jiwon stared at Hanbin like he genuinely wanted to slit his throat while Junhoe frowned, looking between them. "Hm?" 

"Nothing, nothing- hey, let me buy you some cake," Jiwon said quickly as he rested a hand on Junhoe's arm briefly while getting up and Junhoe blinked, looking at him in alarm.

"No it's oka-"

But Jiwon was already speed-walking off and Junhoe looked even more confused than before. Hanbin just smiled into his drink, sipping at it a little and even though he had been planning to do absolutely nothing and just let Jiwon blow up at any potential Junhoe suitors like he usually did, he thought there couldn't be any harm in a simple few words. "Dawon? He's nice, right?"

Junhoe blinked, nodding. "Oh, sure. Nice enough. Not Jinhwan nice. Definitely not Yunhyeong nice. A bit of a mix of Donghyuk and you nice. Except not you being nice to me, to other people."

Hanbin raised an eyebrow at Junhoe. "You...really need to get more friends."

Junhoe nodded more fervently now. "I know! I'm trying! I'm just not very good at it. And, well, maybe you guys _are_ good enough, so I get complacent and I can't really _keep_ anyone else I try and become friends with...and I feel like it's time to branch out now I'm this old and stuff. And aren't social skills super important in like, every job now?"

"Yeah, I guess. But don't worry about it too much. Six friends is actually quite a lot."

Junhoe slumped his hand against the side of his face and Hanbin frowned at him, sympathising. Having even just people you could talk to was always a luxury, and Hanbin knew that even within their group, Junhoe didn't particularly feel like he had that. Even though he knew they'd always listen. It was a two-way thing.

"I know."

"Make more friends, Junhoe. Or at least, do what you want. Don't let anyone tell you what to do, not even me."

"Do you know how I became friends with Jinhwan-hyung?" Junhoe asked nonchalantly, though he waited for Hanbin to shake his head before he continued. "Everyone thinks it's 'cause we're both aristocrats. But no, we just got into a fight at school. And I never wanted to even fight, but this little dude was suddenly getting super angry at me so I threw a confused punch then next thing I knew, we were both in the nurse's office. There was like ten minutes of silence and I was honestly scared of this midget who was simmering in red hot anger beside me, but I managed to ask him why he was mad at me. And he said I was a tall idiot who wasn't listening to a word he was saying. And then I was like 'I do that a lot. It's nothing against you, I just find it hard to focus on things. It's why no-one likes me.'"

"You're so sad."

"Yeah. But then he pulled on my shirt and said in this real tough voice, "Well, now I'll like you," and all I could really do was stare, because it was obviously just talk, right?"

Hanbin grinned, setting his cup back down onto the table. "Kim Jinhwan's never just talk."

"I know. Well, besides that, I'm tryna say that he's literally the only friend I've ever made that's not because of someone else. Like, you guys, I know you because of him. And the only reason I became friends with Jinhwan-hyung is literally because of pity, he pitied me, for sure, and that's kinda pathetic. Any other friends I make? I can never make them stay."

Hanbin leant his face against his fist, giving Junhoe a wistful look. "Well, you gotta ask yourself. Did you ever want them to stay? Could you have tried harder to make them to stay? And if you could have...why didn't you?"

Junhoe was wide-eyed. "Wow."

Hanbin clicked his fingers in agreement while grinning at Jiwon who swept back into his seat, about to say something until Junhoe lightly tugged on his sleeve. "We should go home. They're saying another storm's on the way."

Jiwon blinked, seeming surprised by the suddenness of the words but all he could do was nod as he bundled the cake he bought into more tissue stolen from Hanbin's plate, making Hanbin slap his arm but Jiwon didn't seem to notice. "Who said that?"

Junhoe shrugged, and Hanbin realised too late that he was obviously lying. "Weather forecast."

"But it's really...bright outside..."

"Don't wanna risk it again."

Jiwon jumped into action at that, nodding frantically as he hurried after Junhoe who was on the slow move, and that got Hanbin curious. If anything had happened between them, Jiwon hadn't told him, but then again neither Jiwon nor Junhoe told him much when it came to each other. That always had Hanbin assuming that, well, nothing happened at all, but Hanbin could see them right now, leaving the shop with Junhoe laughing while Jiwon looked confused, lips forming, "What's funny?!" and Junhoe shook his head yet laughed even more.

Hanbin grinned, realising this was exactly why Jiwon didn't see how much he made Junhoe laugh.

He was sure Junhoe didn't need other friends, but if he was feeling low about it then maybe Hanbin should ask Jiwon to back off of Dawon and other friends Junhoe could make. Junhoe was a guy who deserved a little boosting.

It had got near dark by the time Hanbin decided to head on home. He was standing on the bus, holding onto a rung with his eyes closed contentedly, feeling the cold air and the music ringing through the one earphone he had in. He cracked open an eye however when he suddenly heard a very familiar, annoyed voice drift through his other ear from the person who had just got onto the bus.

"Yeah, well, that's not my fault, is it?!" Yunhyeong yelped, leaving Hanbin staring at him wide-eyed. "You think I wanted this? Why can't either us do _anything_ without it being a big deal? NO, CHANWOO, I'M FUMING! And to think, today I was going to- you know what, we're _over_."

Hanbin stumbled a little, having to quickly grapple onto a rung again before Yunhyeong exploded, "THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT BEFORE YOU ATE ALL THE GUMMY BEARS!"

"H-Hyung," Hanbin said nervously, inching his way towards Yunhyeong who had just very angrily and awkwardly hung up, and Yunhyeong turned his head, anger lines immediately leaving.

"Hanbin!"

"What...what was that about?"

"Oh, right. Me and Chanwoo broke up," Yunhyeong said matter-of-factly and Hanbin still couldn't do anything but stare. "It's okay though. It was clearly coming. He has no respect for gummy bears or me, and I don't think that's okay."

"Wha-"

"Have a nice night!" Yunhyeong called out brightly, waving as he got off the bus and Hanbin was left even more confused, until he realised that he had missed his stop. Contentment fucking ruined, and it ended up being far later than he wanted when he ended up getting home. Nine pm. Jinhwan was going to kill him. The only lucky scenario was if he was drunk, but Hanbin didn't usually wish drunkness on anyone, even if Jinhwan was, if not drinking because he was angry about something beforehand, a cute giggly kind of horny drunk.

But funnily enough, the first thing that Hanbin was welcomed by when he entered the apartment was a yell of, "DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING STUPID YUNHYEONG AND CHANWOO ARE?!"

Hanbin grinned.

"They're absolutely messes in the way they're so sweetly but sadly insecure and irrevocably wholesome," Jinhwan argued at the speed of light as they were sat on the sofa, facing each other while he poured himself a cup of wine. Hanbin just nursed an energy drink instead, trying not to smile since Jinhwan would hit him. He just couldn't help it when angry debating Jinhwan was so wonderful. "They don't deserve _themselves_. You know? They're such morons too. Literally, Chanwoo ate Yunhyeong's gummy bears and that happened to be the last straw that spiralled into this drawn out argument. They love each other more than anything yet here they are, not sure how to express their love, not sure how to move forward, so they're fighting instead to fill the void and ignore their annoyance at themselves. It's so horribly upsetting."

"You're right. They just don't know how to deal with it."

"Exactly! Neither of them have been with someone like _this_. Like _them,"_ Jinhwan sighed, already pouring himself another drink and Hanbin raised an eyebrow at that. "Hasn't it almost been a year? They've proved their loyal and resilient and amazing, but they're still kids and that's the _only_ problem, like you said they just don't know what to do."

"Technically...they're not kids-"

"They're kids to me!" Jinhwan yelped fiercely before downing his glass and Hanbin deflated a little at that, because that meant that Jinhwan saw him as a kid too. He didn't want that. He wanted to seem like a knight, someone strong and charming and charismatic. But now he was ten years old again. He didn't even drink _alcohol_ like a _man_. He looked down at his energy drink and cursed it. "And in love age, they're toddlers. What else can we do, though?

"At least we know they'll come back to each other. They can't stay away that long."

"I know. This 'breaking up' nonsense, it'll last maybe five days, tops."

"They've been together a year now. Everyone knows they're better than this, _they_ probably even know they're better than this yet I know it's gotta be difficult for-"

Hanbin dissolved into a muffled yelp when Jinhwan was suddenly pouncing at him, driving the younger's shoulder into the sofa as he slammed their lips together, drawing Hanbin's head up gently with two fingers underneath his chin. Hanbin's breathing grew shaky fast, a soft moan escaping him as Jinhwan spread Hanbin's legs a little, sliding closer.

"Fuck," Hanbin breathed out, having an urge to take his shirt off. His mother had _warned_ him about this but _did_ he listen- "Are you already drunk?"

"No. Just three glasses. Not drunk at all," Jinhwan said bluntly before kissing Hanbin again and God, it really was the most difficult thing to break away from. It made Hanbin forget absolutely everything, and he started to sink into it a little more. Until his phone buzzed.

"W-Wait," Hanbin panted, pecking Jinhwan's lips before fumbling about for his phone. Focusing on something other than an impatient, gorgeous man sliding into your lap and being so close to you is, well, goes without saying, extremely difficult.

 **lamehyung**  
 _Can you tell Chanwoo that he's a MEANIE and he needs to water his orchids_ 😤

"More Yunhyeong and Chanwoo stuff," Hanbin sighed which had Jinhwan groaning, shaking about in disagreement.

"Tell him you're not in the mood!"

"Why the hell are you so horny, huh?" Hanbin asked amusedly, pressing up against Jinhwan as he lay hot kisses over his throat and jaw, leaving Jinhwan humming contentedly.

"This movie I watched had a sex scene and I was absolutely appalled," Jinhwan sniffed, making Hanbin smile into the trails of kisses he was leaving up and down Jinhwan's neck. "Or, maybe not completely appalled. Then I saw you and it came to mind and I was like - _God_ no. But then you just look so fucking hot sometimes."

"As in after a long hot day where I'm so damn tired?" Hanbin asked with a raised eyebrow and Jinhwan nodded adamantly, murmuring, "Exactly," as he rested his arms around Hanbin's neck, looking at him carefully.

"You're so pretty. You're ridiculously pretty."

"Oh," Hanbin said quietly, looking too surprised. "Okay."

Jinhwan frowned. "You mean I haven't told you that before?"

"I don't think so."

That seemed to confuse Jinhwan a lot and Hanbin pulled him closer so he was fully in his lap because it was kind of making him giddy, since he was the one usually in Jinhwan's lap. But at the same time, he still wasn't in control if he saw the way Jinhwan looked at him, one eyebrow raised and eyes dark.

"I think it a lot. Too much, probably."

"You really are getting drunk," Hanbin said with a grin, leaning forward to chase Jinhwan's lips and muffle the guy's noise of disapproval. At least kisses were always the perfect thing to distract Jinhwan, since all he did was pull Hanbin closer by his shirt and kiss him deeper, legs wrapping around Hanbin's waist. Gosh, it was dizzying. Hanbin was pretty sure that it had been weeks since they'd last kissed properly, and now it had jumped straight to this. Hanbin was out of his mind, definitely because of Jinhwan pressed so close to him and the weariness muddling up his brain, and he whispered in Jinhwan's ear, "Do you mean it?"

"I mean everything I tell you," Jinhwan whispered back and Hanbin bit his lip, burying his face in Jinhwan's shoulder.

Three days passed and each day, it was the same thing. Yunhyeong and Chanwoo speaking through Hanbin and Jinhwan while trying to conduct the silent treatment, tiring days, then Jinhwan drinking and jumping at Hanbin at night. Hanbin knew he was being used. He kind of felt used too, but he'd never think that until after it happened. During it, all Hanbin knew was Jinhwan's amazing body, soft skin, shaky breaths, intoxicating kisses. He was helpless, and he'd lie awake in bed thinking that he really was weak.

"Is that a hickey?" Junhoe asked in amazement as him and Jiwon found Hanbin waiting outside Room 3 for Donghyuk. Hanbin grimaced, not even able to say anything as he tried to cover up his neck and Jiwon wolf-whistled. Junhoe just wrinkled his nose.

"You and Jinhwan-hyung are disgusting."

"How do you even know he's the one who did it?"

Junhoe even looked surprised at that as Jiwon shook Hanbin by the shoulders, screeching, "YOU MEAN THERE'S SOMEONE EL-"

"No, shut up, it was Jinhwan-hyung," Hanbin mumbled, looking at the floor and Jiwon's cackles didn't help.

"Well, have a nice day," Junhoe said blankly and Hanbin muttered something back as Junhoe and Jiwon left, one of Jiwon's hands resting lightly on Junhoe's elbow as he pointed at the other end of the place.

"That's where the computing department is. Also known as the _best_ department! You know where to go if you wanna pick an IT class up!"

"Nah, I think I'll leave that stuff to you," Junhoe said amusedly and Jiwon beamed at him, nodding before tugging Junhoe over to another place.

It wasn't long before Donghyuk appeared from out the room and Hanbin waved at him. The younger blinked in surprise, going over to him. "I didn't know you were waiting _here_!"

"I know, I know, just wanted to. Café, right?"

"Yep."

"So what would you do," Hanbin said once they had sat down, trying to sound casual as he sipped his coffee and hitched up his legs on the chair next to Donghyuk, "if you feel used?"

Donghyuk frowned, patting Hanbin's hand worriedly. "In what way?"

"Any way, really. But to make the other person feel better, I think."

"Well, if it happened to me and I felt like I was being used then I'd just ask them to stop. Being used is a horrible feeling."

"I know but it's...difficult...what if they're like, really _good_ at how they use you..."

"Hyung," Donghyuk said with a quirked eyebrow. "Is someone making you have sex with them to release stress or something?"

Hanbin flared bright red. "NO! _No_ , I- actually. To be fair. The situations are kinda similar."

"Then let's role play and pretend it is that. For the sake of solving it, of course."

"Of course..."

"So they're really good at sex but I'm still being used. Well, I'd have to put myself first. Yeah we have needs but life's not all about that either, and I know I'd want to feel my best and be without sex than the current situation."

Hanbin nodded, listening intently. Donghyuk was too wise, or Hanbin was too not. "And what if...you're friends with this person?"

Donghyuk slammed the table and Hanbin jumped. "Man, you're _really_ bad at masking your situations. I know Jinhwan-hyung's the guy. Just man up and talk to him, okay, tell him you deserve to be treated like more than a doll for his own pleasure-"

"Shh, _shhh_ it's _not_ \- it's not like that!" Hanbin yelped, waving his arms about to get Donghyuk to shut up. "He's not _that_ bad, I think. It just makes me feel a little empty...like, I know it doesn't mean anything. And that kind of hurts."

"Hey," Donghyuk said curiously. "I thought that was the whole point of what you guys did. What, do you _want_ it to mean something?"

Hanbin froze for a second.

_I think I might._

"No, not really," Hanbin lied because he couldn't dare accept the truth. "But he's still my really good friend so it's just strange that way. I'll tell him to stop. I just don't wanna feel bad anymore." 

Donghyuk nodded, giving Hanbin a 'good luck' smile while Hanbin just felt sick to his stomach all the way until they parted ways. And then some.

It felt a little like fate when Hanbin was getting on the bus and he noticed a couple at the back of it, wrapped up in each other. The fact that it wasn't just any couple, though, was what got Hanbin's attention.

"I really missed you," Yunhyeong sobbed quietly as he hugged Chanwoo's waist tight, and Chanwoo nosed Yunhyeong's neck gently. "You're my _baby_ , you're-"

"I missed you more," Chanwoo murmured, kissing Yunhyeong on his jaw, his cheek, everywhere he could get before they both looked at each other, eyes teary.

" _Please_ don't leave me again..."

"Please don't break up with me again..."

"Do you love me?" Yunhyeong asked, his voice wary and almost pleading, and Chanwoo's nod had him scrunching his face up. "I love you too. I love you so much."

"I'll never eat another gummy bear again."

" _No_ , you'll eat as _many_ as you want, okay? I'll never ever get angry about it again. And it wasn't like it was really about the gummy bears..."

Chanwoo nodded desolately, leaning forward and the way they kissed was so delicate, but so full of love. Yunhyeong's hands clasped Chanwoo's face, and he was whispering, "We need to work out what to do with ourselves, don't we?"

"Together. We'll do it together."

"B-Before all this, I was thinking about asking you to m-marry me," Yunhyeong sniffed and he was full on crying now, squeezing his eyes shut as if that would stop it. Chanwoo tried his best to catch all the tears after snapping out of his initial shock.

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah. I know - I know I want it to be you. It _has_ to be you, you're mine, you're my- but, we'll wait a while. Grow a bit more."

"For what it's worth, know I would've said yes. I still will when you ask for real," Chanwoo whispered, kissing Yunhyeong's forehead, and Yunhyeong just cried harder.

Hanbin may have been able to hear absolutely nothing but he knew what he was seeing, and nothing could have stopped his smile as he left them be, not missing his stop this time. And maybe, once Hanbin told him the news, Jinhwan might be happier now and not wanna pin him against a wall.

Hanbin couldn't believe that he was so lame that he was complaining about getting some. Every man _ever_ would be disappointed in him.

He was quiet when he opened the door to the apartment but it was even quieter in the apartment itself. There wasn't any of the quiet music that Jinhwan would usually have playing, and Hanbin frowned as he shrugged off his jacket. "Hyung?"

Hanbin walked on, getting more worried as he listened out but then he finally heard something that eased his worries. The sound of gushing water. Jinhwan was taking a shower, and everyone was safe.

Hanbin went to set his bag down in his room, running a hand through his hair, looking around as he wondered how to keep his newfound discoveries so quiet for however long Jinhwan might take. He started pacing a little without realising, then he just left the room, heading to the kitchen to make a sandwich so he sifted through the cupboards and the fridge for bread, butter, any meat. He couldn't find any lettuce and the butter was so scarce that Hanbin nearly shoved his head in the box to try and see if there was any more left. Well, it'd have to do.

" _Just please don't say you love me,_ " Hanbin sang quietly from the music seeping through his earphones as he made his sandwich, " _'cause I might not say it back. Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that..._ "

He winced as a sharp pain struck the side of his head and he thought, weird time to get a headache. He made to take out the earphones, only for arms to slide around his waist, pulling him back. Hanbin bit his lip, closing his eyes tight as Jinhwan gently took out one of his earphones instead, pecking his neck before whispering, "When did you come home, hm?"

"Maybe...twenty minutes ago?" Hanbin said nervously, looking at the clock and Jinhwan hummed in acknowledgement, tugging Hanbin's shirt so there could be more skin exposed for him to kiss. Hanbin shivered, about to at least say that he wanted to finish his sandwich but then Jinhwan was whirling him around, smiling up at him with damp hair and no fucking shirt, and Hanbin blurted out, "Yunhyeong and Chanwoo are back together."

"I heard," Jinhwan said, smile growing bigger and fuck, Jinhwan's biceps were big too- _no Hanbin,_ ** _no_** \- "I'm really glad."

"Me too..."

"It's been a long day," Jinhwan sighed as he sidled up closer to Hanbin, and Hanbin's headache was striking so bad. He wasn't sure but it seemed like his stomach was starting to unsettle too. "You good?"

"I'm great, so great."

"Good," Jinhwan smiled, and Hanbin couldn't really help running his hands through Jinhwan's hair a little, through soft damp strands. He was still a little jittery about the fact that Jinhwan was shirtless and he so badly wanted to do something about it but he couldn't, he told himself he wouldn't even _look_ at it. But then lips were on his neck, and Hanbin had to try a hundred times harder to fight it.

"W-Wait," Hanbin breathed out quietly, gasping out when Jinhwan pushed him against the counter, bending him back a little. Hanbin swallowed without ease and tried to say the word louder which did have Jinhwan pull away, even if just to look half-lidded at the mark he made, brushing his thumb over it.

"You okay, baby?"

That struck Hanbin's resolve down more than anything else could have.

"Ba-baby?" Hanbin asked, confused, awed, and it was embarrassing how one word easily tore down his plans. Jinhwan nodded, tiptoeing to peck his lips and whisper the magic word again before going back to Hanbin's neck. Hanbin felt dizzy.

If Jinhwan said it one more time then Hanbin might have been completely done, but he didn't. So Hanbin finally got a hold of himself soon enough, gripping onto the counter behind him tight with one hand as he pushed at Jinhwan's chest with the other, managing to gasp out, "I-I don't want to."

Jinhwan blinked, shaking his hair out before looking at Hanbin confusedly. "What?"

"I don't want to...do this...I don't want to feel like I'm just here for you to kiss and toy with when-"

Hanbin's eyes widened when his stomach suddenly lurched and he had to push Jinhwan out of the way and run straight to a bathroom. Jinhwan's worried calls were oddly soothing but Hanbin couldn't focus on them as he fumbled to lock himself inside, struggling to breathe before he had to hurl himself at the sink.

God, this had not been a good day.

-

Hanbin didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he was bleary-eyed when he finally came to, in a soft bed with pretty red sheets and Hanbin knew instantly that it was Jinhwan's room. Jinhwan was used to luxury and his room in this apartment spoke of no less. Hanbin was fine with letting him live that way since Jinhwan had all the money.

"Yes," a soft voice filtered through and Hanbin blinked wearily, looking to the right but the word wasn't aimed at him. Jinhwan was at the open door, pacing back and forth with one arm crossed over his chest and the other holding his phone up to his ear. He looked worried. "That care package sounds great. My baby's sick, you see. That'll be here in when? An hour? Thank you. I'll pay on sight."

When Jinhwan looked up and saw sleepy Hanbin grinning at him, he sighed and nodded. "Yes. Goodbye."

Then he was hanging up and going over to Hanbin, taking a seat next to the boy who just kept grinning at him, and Hanbin eventually said an excited, "You used the Sugar Da-"

"Yes, I used the Sugar Daddy Hotline," Jinhwan snapped and Hanbin burst into giggles, hugging himself with all the blankets. He noticed Jinhwan's fond smile, how the elder lowered himself a little, patting Hanbin's side. "Just wanted to get you something nice. But I'm _not_ your sugar daddy."

"No, you're not. You're my best friend," Hanbin said, serious for once as he reached out and wrapped his arms around Jinhwan's neck, hugging him tightly. Jinhwan seemed to still in surprise but he slowly hugged Hanbin too, patting his back gently. "But you haven't been that lately. You haven't even been a friend but that's what I need from you. I don't need a temperamental horndog, I need my hyung."

"I'm sorry," Jinhwan mumbled. "I got...carried away. I'm not good at empathy. I just haven't been feeling good lately and I've been fucking using you...I'm so sorry, Bin."

"It's okay," Hanbin chirped, trying not to sound too happy. "At the least, you were using me nicely. You're always really gentlemanly after a make-out."

"You're incredible," Jinhwan said in amused, disbelieving awe. "Next time, tell me earlier. Tell me earlier if I'm being a dick, hopefully straight away. Let me treat you like you ought to be treated."

"You never really treat me badly," Hanbin murmured, remembering how gentle Jinhwan's kisses and touches always were these past few days. "Just, the emotional connotation is a bit eh. Though I know that is what friends with benefits are, really. We're _meant_ to use each other, right?"

Jinhwan leant back and rested a hand either side of Hanbin's face, making the younger look at him. Jinhwan was so gorgeous when he was determined. "But you're not just that, you're my Hanbin. I don't use Hanbin. I make sure Hanbin's okay and healthy and loved. My best friend."

Hanbin couldn't have ever held back his smile. He nodded, saying a small, "Ditto," as he pecked Jinhwan's lips and then kissing was over as Hanbin weakly tackled the elder into bed with him but Jinhwan let him win, snuggling into him tightly and giggling at the feeling of their feet playing with each other. It was just them, and Hanbin admired Jinhwan's sweet laugh as they talked about anything that came to mind, like how Hanbin was going to sue the café in case they might have poisoned him. And at one point, Hanbin just surged forward, immersing Jinhwan into a cuddle that Jinhwan had no choice but to reciprocate.

He had missed his friend, and he knew Donghyuk was right. It was painful but it was better to feel his best than have Jinhwan kissing him all over.

And in foresight, Hanbin would hide his newfound discovery of being in love with his hyung for another few years, until there'd be no-one left anymore for him to accidentally tell.

Even Jinhwan would be gone by then.


	3. jinhwan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some mild sexual content in the start of this chap lads

As 2018 came to a close, so many things happened, but Jinhwan remembered them just like a big gold rush. A blast from the past, where sometimes it was good just to get worse, and sometimes bad just to get better.

October was a soft month for the most part. The lead up to Hanbin’s birthday was annoying, both because Hanbin was the type to never mention it, and he was always staying late in the university’s studios now. It was annoying because Jinhwan would lie there, watching dramas by himself and wanting to give Hanbin some love so that the boy could at least _feel_ loved, but Jinhwan wouldn’t be surprised at this point if Hanbin forgot his own birthday. Well, at the least, Jinhwan had a kind of plan that would mess up his sleep schedule but it was good enough.

It really amazed Jinhwan when the boy was up and about at midnight, making himself a hot drink by the looks of it. Jinhwan shook his head when he saw the guy’s back in the kitchen, mouthing ‘you better look after yourself better soon’, but he still stepped over and gently wound his arms around Hanbin from behind. Hanbin let out a small noise of surprise and Jinhwan smiled, pulling the boy back into his chest.

“Happy birthday, Bin.”

 _3, 2, 1-_ “It’s my birthday?” _Knew it._

“Yes, you idiot,” Jinhwan sighed, resting his head on Hanbin’s back. “I love you but you’ve gotta start getting your head screwed on straight.”

“Ah,” Hanbin mumbled, about to turn around but Jinhwan let go of him, going over to the fridge to take out the small ice-cream cake he had bought the other day, smiling at the icing of a dog face next to Hanbin’s name. Hanbin was his puppy, after all.

“If I just hold a lighter over this cake for you to blow out, would that be good enough?” Jinhwan asked when they were both sitting down and Hanbin laughed, nodding brightly and he already looked taken enough by the cake. Jinhwan smiled at him, curling an arm around his waist as he held the lighter up with his other hand, clicking up a flame. Hanbin’s smile was so beautiful before he went to blow it out. “You’re such an angel.”

“Hey, you distracted me from making a wish!” Hanbin whined and Jinhwan jumped into action, letting out apologies as he lit up the lighter once more.

“Again!”

Hanbin narrowed his eyes at Jinhwan before blinking when Jinhwan kissed his nose, pushing his face away right after. Hanbin closed his eyes, staying still for a moment before he leant forward and blew the flame out again. He had a sad look on his face when he opened his eyes and Jinhwan gave him a small smile, brushing the hair out of the boy’s face. “Deep wish, huh?”

“Don’t think it’s gonna come true.”

“Don’t say that! Birthday wishes are special, after all.”

Hanbin shrugged, desolately tapping the knife against the cake and Jinhwan took it from him, cutting out a tiny piece to feed to Hanbin and that finally got him smiling a little as he ate it. Jinhwan hugged his arm.

Jinhwan decided to be a bad influence and forced Hanbin to skip all his lessons and not go to the studio, just to spend time with the six of them and actually enjoy the day. Hanbin seemed uncertain about it until Jiwon casually mentioned a waterpark and Hanbin was already running off screeching to get his trunks. Twenty years old but still a kid.

“Today’s been so great,” Hanbin sighed happily as Jinhwan lugged him home after the idiot bashed his leg on a slide but hadn’t seemed to care one bit. “I’ve missed you guys.”

“Anything for your special day. Try and get to bed without dying.”

Hanbin nodded, barking out a, “Yes, sir!” before stumbling off, and Jinhwan grinned after him.

Two hours later, and he wasn’t sure how to execute the next thing he wanted to do. He didn’t know why he felt shy because he didn’t usually feel shy about these things, but if Hanbin didn’t want it then it would be the biggest humiliation that Jinhwan had ever experienced. He had to be confident, though. That was what any benefits relationship was all about, and if Jinhwan didn’t have confidence then he wasn’t even himself anymore.

“Hanbin-ah,” Jinhwan said softly after he pushed open the door to Hanbin’s room, leaning against the doorframe. Hanbin looked up with a smile, but that instantly fell as his eyes grew wider than the moon, his eyes raking over Jinhwan since he was so shocked that he couldn’t even be shy. Well, maybe that was the perfect reaction when you have Kim Jinhwan standing at your door wearing nothing but a smirk and Hanbin’s glasses.

“Fuck me,” Hanbin breathed out, eyes trained on Jinhwan who walked over to him, pushing away Hanbin’s books so he could take his seat on the boy’s lap.

“I’m planning to, baby.”

Hanbin gulped, trembling when Jinhwan started sucking his neck, grinding down on him at the same time and he was pretty sure Hanbin was muttering every soft curse known to man, bucking his hips up helplessly.

“You’re so adorable, aren’t you?” Jinhwan murmured in awe, staring at Hanbin’s face already streaked with sweat and lust, moans escaping his pretty lips by the dozen and Jinhwan stroked his cheek. “I hate it.”

Hanbin slightly opened his teary eyes, looking up into Jinhwan’s and the elder kissed his nose before taking his lips in his, sucking on them gently and he could feel Hanbin’s muffled gasps against his mouth, Hanbin’s hard-on against his leg, and this was an odd time for Jinhwan to say something like ‘I love you’ but he still did it, whispering the words in Hanbin’s ear as he undid the younger’s shirt. He didn’t really expect an answer but he got one as Hanbin whispered it back through another kiss, pulling Jinhwan closer—

“GAH!”

Jinhwan woke up with a start, eyes wide as he stared up at the ceiling, seeing nothing but the dark, hearing nothing but his heavy breathing.

_Woah. That was a dream? Fuck, I need to get a life. And a boyfriend, please…_

He tried to turn so he could check the time, but he felt the head that he hadn’t even realised was on his chest rise and then, a sleepy Hanbin was looking at him. Jinhwan swallowed, trying so hard to forget the dream as he reached out to stroke behind Hanbin’s ear. “Hey…”

“Hyung?”

“Why are you here?”

“Remember we stayed up at that _stupid_ exhibit,” Hanbin groaned, making Jinhwan smile a little. “You said we wouldn’t be able to stay up until midnight so you wanted to at least wake up with me…”

Jinhwan blinked. “Wow, I’m so adorable.” _Shit, wait, that’s what I called Hanbin in the fucking_ ** _dream_** _—_ “W-What time is it?”

Hanbin tried to move to get his phone, before stilling when something hit him. “Woah, are you hard?”

“Wha- NO!” Jinhwan exploded, rolling away from Hanbin while trying very hard not to break a sweat. He grimaced when Hanbin hovered over him while laughing softly, leaning down to kiss Jinhwan’s neck.

“It’s okay if you are I mean it’s norma-”

“Hanbin. Stop talking, please.”

“But it’s my birthday! It just hit midnight,” Hanbin whined, holding his phone out to Jinhwan which said _00:00_ as clear as day. Jinhwan rolled his eyes but nodded, murmuring, “Well, in that case,” before pulling Hanbin down for a kiss, winding an arm around the younger’s waist as Hanbin’s lips smiled against his, “happy birthday, baby boy.”

“Love you, hyung.”

A very different ‘I love you’ to the dream’s but Jinhwan liked this version a lot more when Hanbin was a cute sleepy angel beaming down at him. Jinhwan reached out to pull the boy into a hug, smiling at the happy noise Hanbin made.

So all of that was a dream. There was no cake in the fridge, no water park, no getting naked. Thank God. So, sure, Jinhwan could live through Hanbin’s birthday again no problem.

“You’re still hard,” Hanbin whispered shyly in his ear and Jinhwan winced, about to slap at Hanbin to get him to shut up until the younger started pressing soft kisses to his neck, sliding a careful hand under Jinhwan’s shirt. “I can help if you want…”

“Come here,” Jinhwan sighed heavily, turning around to swallow them with the blankets and Hanbin cheered in triumph.

-

Nothing really happened in November except when Junhoe and Jiwon got stuck in the half-broken elevator of their apartment complex together for two _hours_ and Jinhwan found them almost huddled up together in one corner, laughing. Jinhwan really wanted to talk about that more but Jiwon just quickly got up and said, “We’re never using this elevator again,” before walking out and Junhoe hurried to follow him. Jinhwan raised an eyebrow at their retreating backs.

“Not even a thank you?”

It was the first of December when Jinhwan headed off to a local basketball game that Hanbin, Jiwon and Donghyuk were taking part in. He wrapped up warm, tucking an extra scarf into his pocket just in case Hanbin had forgotten his, and waved when he caught Hanbin’s eye on the court. Hanbin grinned, waving back but Jinhwan faltered a little when someone else caught his own eye. Someone very pale soaring down the pitch stealthily, in a way that didn’t look fast but Jinhwan knew it must be, before they took a shot from so far away from the hoop that Jinhwan was almost gasping when it got in. Must be the shooting guard. Jiwon had been telling Jinhwan about how incredible their team’s was.

He tried to get a better look, leaning forward a little. Ooh. The guy had dyed grey hair that looked really soft, and there was a small smile on his face as he talked to Jiwon. He was kind of pretty, and so pale that it still amazed Jinhwan. Why hadn’t he seen him before?

He seized up a little when the guy was suddenly looking at him, unreadable except for a quirked eyebrow. Jiwon was turning around then, seeing Jinhwan and waving brightly, and Jinhwan sheepishly returned it before Jiwon was going off to round everyone up. The guy stayed for a while, though, nodding at Jinhwan who bit his lip and looked down.

He’d honestly never been attracted to someone this fast…maybe Jinhwan was imagining it.

Of course their team won and Jinhwan couldn’t have been happier, bounding down to hug his three kids. Hanbin even kissed his cheek from the adrenaline and Jinhwan blinked, feeling the other guy’s eyes on him from wherever the hell he was, and he tried to laugh off the conflicting feelings.

“You’re waiting for me, right?” Hanbin said outside the changing rooms and Jinhwan nodded, grinning at him as Hanbin disappeared behind the door, and all Jinhwan could do now was, well, wait. A minute maybe passed before someone walking past bumped shoulders with him and Jinhwan blinked, about to say sorry until the other guy was saying it first. The voice was really low, and Jinhwan said a meek, “That’s okay,” back that had the guy freezing. Jinhwan was freezing too once he noticed exactly who it was. Christ, was this fate?

“Kim Jinhwan, right?” the guy asked, deep voice floating through Jinhwan’s ears again and it was so nice that he almost forgot to answer.

“Y-Yeah! You know me?”

“Yeah, I see you at uni sometimes. And Jiwon pointed you out today. Something about you being good at my position.”

“Pfft, really? I was shooting guard in high school but I don’t really play basketball anymore. The game’s not really… _available_ …for anyone under six foot,” Jinhwan deadpanned sourly, and the guy grinned. Actually grinned. He looked sweet smiling like that.

“Well, I’m only 5’8’’.”

“Wow, _so_ short!”

“Hey, don’t be bitter! To be fair, people tell me I’m short for basketball so I couldn’t begin to imagine what it’d be like if you kept playing.”

Jinhwan glared at him, crossing his arms and it was quite nice when the guy didn’t look fazed. Anyone who could handle Jinhwan’s death glares were quite something.

“The name’s Yoongi. Vice captain of your boyfriend-”

“Me and Hanbin aren’t dating.”

Yoongi stilled in surprise, and Jinhwan cursed himself under his breath because why had he had to say that so _quickly_? God. He sounded desperate. He knew he did. But Yoongi only smirked a little and it was one of the hottest things Jinhwan had ever seen. “That so? Guess I should take a shot then.”

Jinhwan’s eyes grew wide but he tried to stop them, tried to calm down his stupid heart screaming at him ‘YOU’RE FINALLY GETTING A LOVE LIFE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS’ as he decided to take initiative. “Wanna go on a date with me soon?”

Yoongi’s smirk turned into a smile. He really was cute when he smiled. “Depends. Where to?”

“We could walk along the high street.”

“Han River too.”

“If you want then done.”

“I’ll try and pencil you into my schedule,” Yoongi said amusedly, making Jinhwan snort. “Fetch my number from Jiwon then we’ll talk.”

“Alright, and _when_ we go on that date,” Jinhwan said, taking the spare scarf from his pocket and reaching up to wind it around Yoongi’s neck, “give this back to me.”

Yoongi grinned, watching Jinhwan tie up the scarf. “You’re really cute.”

“So are you,” Jinhwan shrugged, pushing Yoongi away when he was done and the latter raised an eyebrow at him. “Do I have your word?”

“Sure thing. See you.”

“Bye!”

“What…”

Jinhwan blinked, turning around to see a changed Hanbin with a confused smile on his face. “What was that all about?”

“How much did you hear?”

“You two calling each other cute which is already quite a big clue,” Hanbin said with a raised eyebrow and Jinhwan scrutinised him for a long moment before walking up to him, poking him in the chest and grinning, teasing.

“Are you _jealous_?”

“What? No way!” Hanbin yelped, his cheeks turning an angry red and Jinhwan snickered, saying, “I’m just kidding,” before he took hold of Hanbin’s hand, tugging him along. He didn’t hear Hanbin’s soft sigh, or the way the boy clenched his fists even though there was nothing there for him to punch.

Once you first notice someone, you start noticing them more.

It turned out Jinhwan had two classes with this Yoongi kid and he really felt the guy's eyes on him a lot. Sometimes he'd turn around to try and challenge him but Yoongi was so far from shy that he'd easily keep staring Jinhwan down, smirking. Jinhwan never knew how to feel, especially if Yoongi would catch him out of class, winking at him, smiling, or even just nodding. Jinhwan could never do much but awkwardly wave and he hated himself because he was usually so _smooth_. Like, him trying to seduce Hanbin? Piece of cake!

They never talked about going on a date. Jinhwan hadn't got Yoongi's number from Jiwon yet, mostly because he kept forgetting but even when he knew he could get it from Yoongi himself, he just kept chickening out.

It really had been long since he'd been in a relationship. Maybe he was scared.

"Jinhwan."

"Ahh!" Jinhwan yelped, jumping up and fumbling when his notebook went flying out of his hands for literally no reason other than his stupid jitters. He let out a puff of breath when he got the notebook back, and the familiar presence was taking a seat next to him.

"Sorry bout that. Didn't think I'd see you here."

Jinhwan turned to look at him. "This is a bench. On campus. Of the university I go to."

"Ah, right," Yoongi mumbled, rubbing his nape and Jinhwan definitely saw some pink on his cheeks. That was a downside of having as pale skin as him, and it made Jinhwan smile. "Well. Just wanted to say hi."

"Hi," Jinhwan said in return, waving right in Yoongi's face and the latter laughed a little, smiling at the hand.

"Hello."

"You already said hi."

"I said I _wanted_ to say hi, so I did say hi in a different statement."

"...you said hello."

"I think we might be nitpicking now.”

Jinhwan just stuck his tongue out because smart alecs were annoying, though if they were as cute as this one then maybe Jinhwan didn’t mind so much.

“Are you older than me?” Jinhwan asked after a moment of silence that he wasn’t sure if comfortable or not, and Yoongi looked at him. Jinhwan just stared back, grilling with his gaze and Yoongi slowly nodded. That made Jinhwan move back a little in astonishment. “Woah, really? I’m always surrounded by dongsaengs, that’s so…weird.”

“Let me be the maturity in your life then,” Yoongi said with a pretty grin, leaning forward and Jinhwan almost squeaked, pretty certain that Yoongi was going to kiss him on the cheek and holy shit, that might just change his life and his feelings and his heart’s desires and—

“Jinhwan-hyung!”

Jinhwan and Yoongi both blinked, looking to the side to see Hanbin standing there like a soldier at attention, arms by his side and he looked like he was holding back a lot of feelings by how red he was. “Hanbin…?”

“Hey, kid,” Yoongi said but Hanbin didn’t even look at him, keeping his eyes on Jinhwan.

“Hyung, there’s an emergency!”

“What?” Jinhwan asked in alarmed confusion, standing up and Hanbin quickly nodded.

“Yeah! W-We- we gotta go!” Hanbin stammered out, taking hold of Jinhwan’s wrist before running off and Jinhwan sighed, turning around to wave apologetically at Yoongi who sent him an ‘it’s okay’ smile that made Jinhwan’s heart flutter a little. But then he was forgetting about him when Hanbin was pulling him into the university building and- into an empty classroom?

“Hyung,” Hanbin said dynamically, as if he was announcing an earthly secret. “I want to make out.”

Jinhwan was so confused that he forgot to be mad.

“What? _Now_? It’s-” Jinhwan gestured wildly at the clock. “-two minutes until your next class!”

“Yeah, so? Two minutes is enough!”

“Bin, think. Calm down. Be rational,” Jinhwan hummed softly, putting on a lullaby voice as he swept forward and wrapped his arms around Hanbin’s torso, looking up at the boy. Hanbin frowned, seeming to be fighting something inside his head and Jinhwan felt accomplished once he could see him wearing down a bit more. “What happened? Why is wanting to make out suddenly an ‘emergency’?”

“Just don’t feel too good,” Hanbin mumbled, looking down. “You’re usually the only one who can like… _really_ make me feel better.”

Jinhwan smiled, squeezing Hanbin gently. He was honestly really glad he was that person. “Do you feel better yet?”

“Maybe…say you love me.”

Jinhwan rolled his eyes, asking, “Seriously?” but he got startled by the look in Hanbin’s eyes. It was sad. It was unsettlingly sad, and it hurt Jinhwan’s heart.

“I just wanna know if you’ll always love me,” Hanbin said quietly, biting his lip as he looked away, not wanting to seem vulnerable but Jinhwan could already see it. “I wanna know if you won’t stop…”

“Hey, stop it. Of course I’m always gonna love you. Don’t you dare question something like that.” 

Hanbin smiled then, but his eyes were still sad. He leant down and kissed Jinhwan’s cheek, lingering longer than usual and Jinhwan was sure he couldn’t be blushing. Hanbin never made him blush. Yoongi did, not Hanbin.

“I’m gonna go to class now.”

“Have a good time, baby. Feel better.”

Hanbin nodded, waving at Jinhwan as he left the room and Jinhwan just sat on one of the desks for a moment, rubbing his head. What was making Hanbin sad? The boy always told Jinhwan everything but here he was, keeping something that was obviously hurting him quiet. Maybe Jinhwan should stay away from Yoongi for a while…Hanbin was kind of his world, and Jinhwan wanted to figure out what was wrong. He couldn’t get distracted.

When Jinhwan walked back out across the campus, Yoongi was still sitting on the bench. Jinhwan tried not to look at him and even when Yoongi called out his name, he tried not to flinch and just kept walking. When Yoongi didn’t go after him, it was a bittersweet feeling.

-

So December turned out to be an eventful month indeed. The next thing they knew was planning Jiwon’s birthday party and mourning a little when they realised Junhoe would be on a Geography trip during it, then all six of them screeching the apartment down at Junhoe’s midnight text of _‘hbd hyung’_ , then Christmas at Hanbin and Jinhwan’s apartment where all seven of them were there for the first time ever. Hanbin woke Jinhwan up so early that it was positively ridiculous, and the annoying part was that Hanbin was in ‘getting things done’ mode so he wasn’t even nice about it, he just pulled the blinds open, tugged off Jinhwan’s blanket and blared a horn that he had acquired the year before in Jinhwan’s ears. The elder groaned, kicking out but Hanbin was more than used to that kind of thing already as he wrestled Jinhwan out of bed, picking him up while the latter screeched, “IT’S FUCKING FOUR AM!”

Jinhwan might be crazy for saying this, but waking up that early actually became a little worth it when Hanbin got out all the homemade decorations that they hadn’t finished the day before, heavily working on fixing things up. Jinhwan tried to help but he was mostly just watching Hanbin with a fond grin, the way he worked so quickly, methodically, so chic as he tore off sellotape with his teeth and stuck things together. Yeah, Jinhwan was being kind of ignored on a day like Christmas but he didn’t mind if he could sit there with a blanket around him and a cup of eggnog in his hands, admiring his wonderful best friend.

Five hours later and the next thing on Hanbin’s itinerary was fetching Junhoe and Jiwon from their house, since everyone knew about their unreliability when it came to waking up, as well as picking Donghyuk up on the way. But just before they were setting off, Yunhyeong and Chanwoo came early, arm-in-arm and beaming with Christmas spirit, so Hanbin was immediately sending them to work hanging up decorations. Jinhwan waved at them, wishing them a happy Christmas just as Hanbin was dragging him out of the front door.

“Jinhwan-hyung!” Hanbin called out the instant they were back home, a little stressed out since apparently they were something like five minutes behind schedule, after racing to the kitchen and Jinhwan nodded, saluting. “Make sure all the presents go under the Christmas tree; Junhoe, Jiwon-hyung, go decorate it, the decorations are next to it in boxes; Yunhyeong-hyung, come help me; Donghyuk, replace him!”

“Got it,” the majority of them replied (not in sync but close), rather used to Hanbin throwing orders at them, and Jinhwan went around gathering the presents which the guys had put in the most higgledy-piggledy of places. He couldn’t find Jiwon’s gift for Junhoe which was annoying but when he looked over to the tree so he could ask him, he was left wide-eyed when he saw Jiwon and Junhoe standing amazingly close, with the elder laughing while Junhoe wrapped him up in purple tinsel.

“This tickles,” Jiwon giggled, and Jinhwan watched the way Junhoe blushed so lightly that it was hard to see at first, smiling smittenly right at Jiwon and that definitely _wasn’t_ hard to see and Jinhwan really wanted to scream at Jiwon to just _look_ \- though it all came crashing down the instant Hanbin screamed out that it was gift time. Jinhwan sighed, shaking his head, before sitting down with the others to exchange presents.

“Hanbin?”

The guy hummed in response, not even turning around from where he was preparing plates of food. Jinhwan smiled knowingly as he went up to the guy, looking at all the plates in awe. “Wow. Need…help?”

Hanbin shook his head and Jinhwan grinned. “Thought so. Hey, look at me.”

Hanbin shook his head again, making Jinhwan pout up at him. “Pleeeeeeeease.”

“Nope.”

“Why not?!”

“Busy.”

“Too busy for me, right…”

Hanbin seemed to panic a tiny bit at that from the way his arm jerked, and Jinhwan tried not to smile too big.

“Let me at least help you serve them.”

Hanbin slowly nodded then, still not looking at Jinhwan and the latter sighed under his breath, accepting defeat as he took hold of some plates but only for the time being. Kim Jinhwan never loses.

Slowly and surely, the table was filled while the kitchen counters were emptied, and Yunhyeong was shying under the compliments he was getting for the cooking, even though knowing them they were mostly back-handed though Donghyuk was there to translate them nicely. And while they were all distracted and Hanbin was going back to the kitchen, Jinhwan grabbed some mistletoe from the table decorations and slipped in behind him quietly, raising a finger to his lips at Junhoe who noticed him.

Jinhwan tiptoed forward as Hanbin shed his gloves, sighing tiredly and the moment he was weak, Jinhwan swooped in and picked him clean off his feet, leaving Hanbin yelping out as Jinhwan swung him around, laughing.

“HYUNG, I-I WILL FUCKING _MURDER-_ ”

“Hey, that’s not very nice talk for Christmas!” Jinhwan snickered, beaming when Hanbin wrapped his arms around Jinhwan’s neck, burying his face in the elder’s shoulder. These were the moments when Jinhwan really wished that he was taller but this was still more than good enough, and he felt warmth in his veins when he set a very windswept Hanbin onto the counter.

“Y-You _suck,_ ” Hanbin mumbled dizzily, blinking as he still held onto Jinhwan’s shoulders tight for balance, and Jinhwan grinned as his hands smoothed over Hanbin’s hips, holding onto them gently.

“How’s our Hanbin?”

“He got vertigo…”

“You did really good today. You’re amazing.”

“I know. It was hard, though, with you staring at me so much,” Hanbin huffed, leaving Jinhwan blinking in alarm. Oh no. He’d been caught.

“W-What?! That’s not- pfft, _what_ , that’s like so-”

“It’s okay,” Hanbin said with a small smirk. “I know I’m irresistible when I’m in tiger-mode.”

“Oh, really, is that so?” Jinhwan teased with a raised eyebrow, leaning closer and Hanbin did the same, saying a childish, “Yuh-uh.”

“You find me more irresistible whatever mode I’m in, however.”

“Very true,” Hanbin sighed dreamily which had Jinhwan rolling his eyes. “You’re prepossessing 24/7…”

“Would you mind giving the ‘prepossessing’ man a charmed kiss, then?” Jinhwan asked as he held the small sprig of mistletoe in the air above them and Hanbin looked up at it, gasping in delight.

“Mistletoe!”

“Just how you like it, babe,” Jinhwan hummed softly, grinning when Hanbin leant down to clasp Jinhwan’s face and kiss him so deeply that Jinhwan really felt like he was being transported somewhere beautiful, even if he couldn’t see it. He tip-toed a little, trying to press closer to get more of Hanbin’s sweet candy-cane taste, and it was magical when they both smiled in unison, lost together in that somewhere beautiful.

“Hey, guys are you not gonna eat-”

Jiwon froze when he saw the way Jinhwan and Hanbin were, giggling and whispering between kisses under mistletoe hastily taped against the bottom of a cupboard above them, and Jiwon decided to leave them be.

-

It wasn’t long before the last day of the year hit, and Jinhwan wondered what his resolutions were going to be. It felt like this year had gone by so quickly yet it was still such a tiring 365 days, where exhaustion was really settling in his bones right on this day.

“Happy New Year’s Eve, love,” Jinhwan called out as he got ready to leave the house to the zombie Hanbin making tea, and the younger smiled at him weakly. Jinhwan blew him a kiss and just after he closed the door behind him, he realised that he had never quite found out why Hanbin was sad. He knew the boy had got _less_ sad, seemingly, but sometimes Jinhwan would catch him staring out of his window like the worried cliché, or he’d find Hanbin just spread-eagling across his bed, staring up at the ceiling with no real emotion in his eyes. Sometimes Jinhwan would join him, even just for a minute to roll onto the bed and tickle the boy’s stomach so he could see him smile. But he couldn’t always.

The Han River was beautiful at this time of year. Grass banks were softly frosted and lights were up, creating some mystical aura that still felt real. Jinhwan’s steps were slow as he walked across the bank, here mostly just to wake himself up and feel less exhaustion, and hopefully get some new year spirit in him. He stopped under some mistletoe he found and smiled up at it. It must be the same mistletoe that Junhoe had been screaming at him about the other day, when he had supposedly taken Jiwon on a ‘date but not date because the guy doesn’t wanna date but I kinda KISSED HIM HYUNG BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKING MISTLETOE but not really ‘cause I’m a coward but it was soMETHING ISN’T THIS PROGRESS-’

Jinhwan didn’t know how long he’d been standing under that mistletoe, but it must have been quite a while as he simply looked out across the river, something weighing heavy on his heart, and it felt the tiniest bit like fate again when he felt a dark presence in front of him. “Jinhwan?”

Jinhwan blinked, looking to the side and his eyes widened a little. “Yoongi…”

Yoongi nodded, pulling down his scarf. The two just looked at each other for a moment, until Jinhwan scratched his nape and muttered, “I kinda miss you.”

Yoongi didn’t smile. “I thought you were avoiding me.”

_I am, I guess…_

“I’ve just been trying to focus more on schoolwork and my friends. I didn’t mean to try to fully _avoid_ you, I just-”

“I get it. I mean, I understood what you were trying to do so I backed off.”

That made sense, from how little Jinhwan started seeing him since that day on campus.

“But it’s not because I don’t like you,” Jinhwan said quickly before Yoongi could speak again, and he felt spurred on when Yoongi’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “It’s really not, because I do. I really like you. I just…well. I thought it was about my friends but to be honest, I don’t think I was ready yet.”

“Ready?”

“To date someone.”

“Oh,” Yoongi said, uncertainly, as if he really hadn’t been expecting that. Jinhwan just shrugged, as if to say ‘that’s all’. “If that’s all it is then I mean- I don’t mind. I’d wait. I’m good at waiting, when the other team’s attacking side’s really good, sometimes it takes most of the game for the ball to get to me.”

Jinhwan grinned at that, taking a step forward and poking Yoongi in the cheek. “Yeah, I’ve missed you.”

A smile was finally peeking onto Yoongi’s lips now. “Missed you too.”

“So how about you pencil in that date for next year, then? 2019, perhaps a promising fresh start.” 

“You sure?”

“I think so.”

“And I’ll give you your scarf back then.”

Jinhwan nodded, saying a bright, “It’s sorted,” before Yoongi was leaving, sending Jinhwan a small salute. Jinhwan breathed out, watching the small puff of white breath in the air and wondering just how much warmer he had got in the last few minutes.

He looked up at the mistletoe and mouthed ‘thank you’ before turning to trudge back home.

Gentle classical music met his ears when he opened the door. He looked around the place and a soft ‘woah’ left his lips when he saw all the candles around the place, pink and mint and lilac and all sorts of colours, topped with small dancing flames. He slowly shed his coat and scarf, not able to tear his eyes away from his beautified apartment, and he was scared out of his skin when a finger tapped his shoulder.

“HANBIN-”

“Shh,” Hanbin hushed, twirling Jinhwan around and pressing a finger to his lips while slipping an arm around his waist, pulling the elder flush against his chest. Jinhwan blinked, staring at Hanbin in utter amazement as he saw the rose between the younger’s teeth and the further down he looked, he could see the tuxedo Hanbin was dressed in. Jinhwan’s head was spinning.

“What’s all this?” Jinhwan asked confusedly, slowly reaching out to take the rose from Hanbin’s mouth and the younger grinned at him.

“You were gone for way longer than I thought you’d be,” Hanbin said instead of answering the question but Jinhwan was focusing on the rose instead. It was a pale sunset colour, and one of the most beautiful things ever. “That’s okay, though. It meant that I could do all of this.”

“What _is_ this, though?”

Hanbin smiled, kissing Jinhwan’s forehead. “I was wondering if you’d like to dance.”

Jinhwan’s eyes grew wide as it all clicked, the music, the tux, the soft setting. He looked up at Hanbin and nodded, seeing Hanbin’s suave image break for a minute as the boy beamed giddily before instantly composing himself. Jinhwan slowly slid his arms around Hanbin’s neck, not able to really look away from Hanbin’s eyes because they were shining. It looked pretty for the time being but Jinhwan kept looking at them, carefully, before he stroked the skin under one of them. “Hey, are you going to cry?”

Hanbin blinked, perplexed. “Am I?”

“I don’t know. Be careful.”

Hanbin nodded, and Jinhwan was barely even registering that they were moving as he rested his head on Hanbin’s chest, closing his eyes. He started to realise that the walk hadn’t helped, he was still feeling exhausted but it was like Hanbin was just letting him be, saying ‘it’s okay to be tired, I’ll help you stand.’ Jinhwan loved this boy so, so much, and it was different to how he ever thought he’d love anyone.

“You look beautiful,” Jinhwan mumbled and he could feel a light rumble of laughter in Hanbin’s chest.

“As do you.”

“I seriously didn’t change out of my pyjamas.”

“You always look beautiful.”

“As do you,” Jinhwan murmured, repeating Hanbin’s words to him as he moved his head back and reached up to thread the sunset rose behind Hanbin’s ear. Hanbin smiled, poignantly, before he knocked his head against Jinhwan’s and whispered, “Happy New Year, hyung.”

“Not yet,” Jinhwan laughed, but he felt irrevocably warm all the same. “Wait until midnight to say that.”

“But we’ll be kissing at midnight.”

Jinhwan even surprised himself from how hard he flushed red. Maybe he was wrong about Hanbin not being able to make him blush, because the guy had kind of been nurturing some game over the years. “We will? I’m your New Year’s kiss?”

Hanbin blinked so many times that Jinhwan was getting vertigo. “Wait a sec, I mean, it depends whether or not… _you_ want me to be your-”

“Course I do. But if we’re gonna do it, then I wanna do it the traditional way.”

“Traditional way?”

“Mhm.” Jinhwan let go of Hanbin and pushed the younger’s arms off his waist, just to take hold of his hands and intertwine every finger. Hanbin blinked but seemed attentive, and Jinhwan reached up, saying absolutely nothing for a long moment before whispering, “No clothes.”

“No clothes?!” Hanbin squawked and Jinhwan nodded, keeping such a good straight face.

“But the only thing you can do is a kiss. Nothing else. And the kiss is just a peck.”

“Ah…okay-”

“And hands intertwined the whole time! No other touching!”

“Okay!”

“You need to have an animal watching so their soul can catalogue to God that it happened.”

“Damn…I could get Obang-”

“And the most _important_ of all!” Jinhwan announced, making Hanbin jump to attention. “You need to sing Auld Lang Syne straight after.”

“What-”

“All twenty verses.”

All the blood had drained from Hanbin’s face at this point and it had to be the funniest thing Jinhwan had ever seen that he couldn’t help bursting into laughter, clamping his arms around Hanbin. “I’m joking, baby, I’m _joking._ ”

Relief flooded to Hanbin’s face so fast, until Jinhwan chirped, “Auld Lang Syne only has six verses.”

Jinhwan squeezed Hanbin one more time before rushing off in silent laughter, leaving Hanbin petrified.

**Author's Note:**

> aight im not really sure about the number of chapters, im pretty sure itll be either three or four so i'll stick with three for now. by the way yesiknowihavesomanyotherthingstoupdatebuthanbinandoursisonmymindalotokay


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